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10 - The Oakville Beaver, Friday October 10, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Carbon tax would have insignificant impact on economy: Green candidate I'm writing to express my disappointment with your editorial, Our choice, Oakville Beaver, Oct. 8. Of course you have a right to endorse a candidate in this election if you wish. We would naturally prefer if you had selected the Green Party to endorse, and take exception to your portrayal of us as "not viable option for Oakville voters" (whereas we are not only viable, but in key ministerial positions in many other countries around the world), but that is not why I'm writing. I'm writing to object to statements that have been made by the Conservative candidate in this campaign, and in your editorial, that are potentially quite misleading for voters not already well versed in what the Green Shift is (in either Liberal or Green Party versions) You and Terence both claim that the Liberals' Green Shift could be "an economic disaster." You, at least, add the important caveat "without the promised tax cuts." It's important to understand the green shift is only a "shift" because the entire premise is that the tax burden be shifted off of income and employment and onto pollution. As the saying goes, "tax what you burn, not what you earn." I repeat, a tax shift is not the same as adding a new tax. A tax shift simply changes the signals we send about what is valued (employment) and what is not (pollution). We use price signals in other areas to discourage some behaviours (taxing cigarettes to reduce smoking) or encourage others (tax breaks for buying the most fuel-efficient cars). This is no different. Even the Green Party's version (which leads off at $50/tonne rather than the Liberals' weaker $10/tonne) has been numbercrunched by economists to show that Canadians and small businesses at a variety of income levels would come out about even (and in some cases ahead). A secret report commissioned by the Harper government from a world renowned energy economist, obtained early this past summer by the Green Party under the Access to Information Act, concludes that a $50/tonne tax on carbon would lead to reduced greenhouse gas emissions and have an insignificant impact on the Canadian economy. In fact, the report, undertaken for Natural Resources Canada by M.K. Jaccard and Associates, shows a positive impact on GDP beginning in 2015. Groups such as the Conference Board of Canada, the Canadian Roundtable on the Economy and the Environment, and eminent international economists including Sir Nicholas Stern, the World Bank's former chief economist, have endorsed a carbon tax. Indeed, Stern's in-depth assessment shows that the costs of inaction (up to 20 per cent of GDP) vastly outweigh the costs of action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (projected to be at most one to two per cent of GDP). Earlier this week, more than 230 of Canada's leading economists issued a statement that calls for a green tax-shift plan to combat climate change and create an innovative sustainable economy. In another open letter, issued the same day, 120 of Canada's top climate scientists urged Canadians to vote for the environment. "Global warming is a problem that must be dealt with now, before it's too late," the letter states." Any further delay will only increase the risks of damage and costs of action." Experts also agree that the Harper plan for climate change mitigation is too little too late and unlikely to even reach its own all-too-modest targets for greenhouse gas emission reductions. Most economists, environmentalists and the leaders of the three opposing parties now agree that climate change is too important to be a partisan political football. We need action and we need it now. By most recent expert accounts, we have less than five years to turn the situation around before we pass 'tipping points' for accelerated runaway climate change. Public health units across Canada and Europe are already meeting regularly to try to figure out how they will handle the substantial predicted threats to public health and safety. We cannot afford another two to four years of Harper-style inaction. Pick a Conservative candidate if you must. But don't spread untruths and mislead the public in the process. Our future and our children's future depends on it. DR. BLAKE POLAND HEALTH PROMOTION CRITIC, GREEN PARTY OF CANADA GREEN PARTY CANDIDATE, OAKVILLE RIDING YOUR SEARCH IS OVER! NOW OPEN! DISCOVER CHARTWELL CLASSIC OAKVILLE I R T G E R E E O O R I A E R N I N A A G N A N P R C O E I O I R G B H S L F R O M R O G N I P P O H S T F N R F R L I A T E R P I T I C P L T O D H S A A N O A F I R E S I D E R C O P T A S E N A I L T E I L S R R L R R I E B I F O A D E L O U N G E E U R U S D T E R R A C E R S R S P R N A H N I I T T I P S G T E R T A E H T G G S E Theatre Rooftop Terrace Spacious Suites Entertainment Bistro Fireside Lounge Elegant Dining Spa Retail Shopping Concierge Salon Vote Green, not strategic I went to the two recent candidate debates and I am sick and tired of Liberal candidate Bonnie Brown's calls for strategic voting. I am also surprised by constant protests against strategic voting by the Green candidate. I think Liberal voters should admit to themselves, their intuition is right -- the Liberal Party will lose this riding in this election. The last time it barely won and now its position is much weaker. However, if they concentrate all efforts on the Green Party candidate, there is a chance to bring a moderate voice to Parliament from our riding. Moreover, the NDP voters should consider this: in the last provincial election, the NDP came fourth in this riding, after the Green Party. They should know deep in their soul by now that the NDP candidate has no chance of winning in this riding. Their yearning for social justice is understandable, what is mysterious to me, is their total blindness to the fact the Greens are as interested in fighting the poverty as the NDP. After all, the Green Party has its roots in the Civil Rights Movement of the 60s. Now, Conservative voters might be thinking that Greens are a bit too progressive, but are they necessarily so happy with the hijacking of the Conservative movement by the Alberta Bible Belt cowboys? In the next election, when the Conservatives will get rid of Harper, they can vote Blue to their heart's content, but in this election they should vote Green, because they certainly do not want to be voting Red or Orange. After all, wouldn't it be nice for Oakville to bring to the Parliament one of the first elected Green MPs in the history of Canada? ANDRZEJ CHLOBOWSKI, GREEN PARTY CANDIDATE, HALTON RIDING, 2007 PROVINCIAL ELECTION e're very pleased to announce that Oakville seniors now have a new option in retirement living. The thoughtfully designed suites, amenity spaces and services of Chartwell Classic Oakville retirement residence are created to match your lifestyle, now and in the future, in a setting you would be proud to call home. W Call today to book your personal tour. 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